Train Keeps Rollin' On

Train has been one of the most successful bands of the last 10 years. The five-piece group, which formed in San Francisco in 1994, has enjoyed a string of melodic, acoustic-based rock hits that began with 1998's "Meet Virginia," and includes radio favorites like "Drops Of Jupiter," "Calling All Angels" and "When I Look To The Sky."

The band's fourth studio album, For Me, It's You was released by Columbia Records in January, 2006. If you've heard the single "Cab" playing on the radio, you can probably still hear its catchy chorus — "The days are better, the nights are still so lonely / Sometimes I think I'm the only cab on the road" — playing in your head.

In a telephone interview, guitarist Jimmy Stafford said that while the band is proud of its chart success, singles don't tell the group's whole story. He wants fans to know that Train can, and does, rock.

"Typically the songs that end up making it on the radio are the ballads, or the more pop-oriented material," Stafford said. "But when we play live, you get to hear the rest of our stuff. When you add in the live setting, and the adrenaline of the band and the crowd, the material comes off with a lot more energy than it does on the record."

In a separate interview, lead singer Pat Monahan (who released a solo album entitled Last of Seven in September 2007) said that Howard Stern is a big Train fan.

"Not because he loves [ballads like] 'Drops of Jupiter' or 'When I Look To The Sky,' but because he knows that beyond all the songs that people hear on the radio, we're a great rock band," says Monahan. "I think you have to see us live to really appreciate us."

In concert Train has never been a group of stool-sitters or shoe-gazers. The band — which includes drummer Scott Underwood, keyboardist Brandon Bush, and bassist Johnny Colt — is known for wearing its classic rock influences on its sleeve, from its big stage production values, right down to the Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin covers that have been featured in Train's setlist for years.

"We're not insulted by comparisons to classic rock bands," Monahan says. "You're talking about a bunch of guys whose lives changed when they saw classic rock bands. I love being the band that carries that torch, because if you ever saw Aerosmith or Van Halen in concert, your life was different when you walked out of that building."

For Me, It's You has been the most critically acclaimed Train album since the band's self-titled debut. It's also the group's most diverse collection yet. Like its predecessors, it contains its share of reflective ballads (including the poignant "Always Remember" and the single, "Give Myself To You"), but it also captures the band's harder edge on tracks like "Am I Reaching You Now," the catchy "All I Hear," and an energetic cover of Bob Mould's "If I Can't Change Your Mind." Train even shows its soulful side on "I'm Not Waiting In Line" and the title track.

Monahan believes the band was revitalized when Colt (formerly of the Black Crowes) and Bush joined three years ago (replacing guitarist Rob Hotchkiss and bassist Charlie Colin) for the My Private Nation tour. That tour was recorded for 2004's Alive At Last CD. For Me, It's You is the first studio album for the current line-up.

"When we went into the studio to work with [producer] Brendan [O'Brien], we didn't know that we were going to make a complete record," Monahan says. "We were just planning to record a few songs. We wanted to see where we were musically. After about six hours of recording, Brendan pulled me aside and said, 'Man, this is the best it's ever been. Let's make a record.'"

The band had approximately 40 songs to pick from. Band manager Jon Landau chose the 13 that make up For Me, It's You.

"Jon could tell that there was a very clear distinction among the songs that made sense together," Monahan says. "He would call it 'focus.' This album has focus."

The album was recorded in only eight weeks, in a collaborative spirit that Monahan says had been missing from the group for some time.

"We're just a higher-level band now," he says. "We've got a bunch of guys that really mean business. We are more confident. One of the things that bothered me a bit about the My Private Nation record is that everything from the artwork to the songs was a reflection of where the band members were personally," he says. "I think it was more of an album by five individuals than it was by a band. Now the band is healthy, and this is a real band album."

While For Me, It's You has yet to match the platinum sales levels of Train's prior studio albums, Monahan feels true success can only be measured over time.

"There aren't a lot of bands left from the days when 'Meet Virginia' first became a hit," he says. "I've been telling people since our first album came out that we weren't always going to be the fashionable, hot item. But we are going to be around for a long time, so you just have to get used to us."